App Store Refunds and Reviews
I purchased a 99¢ app and asked Apple for a refund a few hours later via https://reportaproblem.apple.com
Prior to the refund, I wrote a (5-star) review on the App Store.
The refund was approved the same day and this morning the app is still on my device and still functional but I can no longer review the app and my review is still visible.
I was and some fellow devs were under the impression that reviews were removed when a user was refunded but apparently not?
[…]
I forgot to mention that the app no longer appears in the Purchases section of the App Store app.
[…]
App Store does show an update for the refunded app but tapping Update does nothing.
One annoying side-effect is that having that refunded app in the updates will mess up the update process for other apps when tapping Update All.
TIL “You can’t request refunds for recurring charges…” So all those apps that tricked people into high priced subscriptions get to keep all the revenue AND the subscriptions keep renewing because the UI to cancel subscriptions is buried.
It’s hard to conclude anything other than Apple is willfully being customer hostile to save on customer support and reduce returns. They still haven’t even fixed the App Store purchase flow to prevent accidental purchases via Touch ID. That should’ve been a rush fix.
Previously:
- Apple Pulling High-Grossing Scammy Subscription Apps Off the App Store
- Apple Support Tells Customers to Ask Developer for Refund
Update (2019-03-04): Dave Wood:
Remember when anyone could review an app, regardless of whether they bought it or not. Then it was changed so they had to buy the app before reviewing. Then every app went free with IAP, and now everyone reviews apps they haven’t bought again. Apple should fix that again.
Apple may not allow refunds for recurring charges, but you can potentially request a chargeback from the credit card company if the application does not do what it is purported to do.
There are also potentially legal remedies from your local government (I know the Australian fair trade and consumer protection people are pretty serious about that sort of thing).